A “Save the Date” announcement has been issued for area hunters and anyone interested in the fate of white-tailed deer, especially in the southcentral part of Pennsylvania.

“Chronic Wasting Disease Management – What You Need to Know,” is the topic of a meeting being held Monday, Sept. 11, at 6:30 p.m. at the East Berlin Fish and Game Club. Rep. William Tallman (R-193rd) will preside over the event sponsored by the Adams County Federation of Sportsmen.

The topic, chronic wasting disease (CWD), is an illness that hits the brain and nervous systems of infected “cervids” (deer, elk and moose) and eventually results in the animal’s death.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, CWD was first detected on an Adams County deer farm in 2012. From 2012 through 2016 47 cases of the disease have been detected in captive and wild-ranging deer in an area that includes the western portion of Adams County and portions of Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Bedford, Huntingdon, Blair, Cambria, Jefferson, Clearfield and Somerset counties. The stats include suspected cases, harvested deer and road kill.

Cases of the CWD were found in Jefferson and Clearfield counties, threatening Pennsylvania’s elk herd.

Visible symptoms of deer in the late stages of the disease include irregular walking patterns, droopy ears, a wide stance and listlessness. Some will lose their fear of humans or predators. There is no known cure for the disease which is spread from animal to animal contact and through food and soil contaminated by bodily secretions – saliva, feces and urine.

The Game Commission took immediate action on the discovery of CWD in the state and changed hunting regulations and issued an executive order to establish designated Disease Management Areas (DMAs). Joining the effort were the state’s departments of Agriculture, Health and Environmental Protection and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Hunters are advised not to disturb or kill a deer or elk they believe is sick. They should immediately contact the nearest PGC region office and accurately document the location of the animal. The Southcentral Region office phone number is 814-643-1831.

Agencies say there is no evidence CWD is transmissible to humans or farm livestock. But, it is recommended meat from CWD-positive deer or elk not be consumed.

When field dressing a deer, hunters should use precautions such as wearing gloves and washing hands. When processing a deer, bone out the meat and avoid or minimize the handling of brain or spinal tissues. Meat processors and taxidermists in the affected areas cooperated with the PGC by contacting the agencies when the disease is suspected.

Pennsylvania also had banned the transporting of high-risk parts from harvested or farmed deer or elk from other states where CWD is found.

Recently, the PGC named Wayne A. Laroche to a new position of Special Assistant for CWD Response to head efforts to slow the spread of the disease and minimize its impact on wild white-tailed deer and neutralize threats to wild elk.

For the past two years, Laroche who directed the agency’s Bureau of Wildlife Management, has taken the lead on managing Pennsylvania’s sporadic and smoldering CWD problem in wild deer populations, deploying a variety of measures designed to assess CWD’s prevalence and limit its spread in areas where it has been found.

Bob Marchio is outdoor writer for The (Hanover) Evening Sun. He may be reached at: bmarchio@embarqmail.com.